Existing-home prices in the Orlando area fell yet again in April, but the number of sales and pending contracts continued to improve from a year ago and the inventory of available homes continued to shrink, as the local housing market feels about for a bottom to its three-year slump.

The median price of the homes sold last month by Realtors in the core Orlando market last month was $132,900, down from $135,000 a month earlier and from $211,000 a year ago, according to a report released Monday by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The last time the median price in the Realtors' core market -- mainly Orange and Seminole counties -- was less that was in January 2003.

Half of the 1,741 resales in April involved bank-owned or distressed houses selling for less than the mortgage amount. According to the local Realtors group, the median price of the bank-owned homes (half sold for more, half for less) was $89,900, while the distressed homes went for a median of $146,000.

The report noted that supplies were still ample but shrinking, with the backlog of unsold properties falling to an 11.6-month supply from 12.2 months in March and 20.7 months in April 2008.